Genetic engineering of plants through manipulation of lignin biosynthesis

ABSTRACT

The invention pertains to the genetically down regulating a lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL) in trees.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/969,046, filed Nov. 12, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,455,762, issued Sep. 24, 2002.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT RIGHTS

The present invention was made at least in part with the support of the United States Government awarded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Grant No. 95-37103-2061). Therefore, the Government may have certain rights in the invention.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to genetically modifying trees through manipulation of the lignin biosynthesis pathway, and more particularly, to genetically modifying trees through the down regulation of p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL) to achieve faster growth, and/or altered lignin content, and/or altered lignin structure, and/or altered cellulose content and/or disease resistance of the trees and to the use of promoters of the CCL genes to drive gene expression specifically in xylem tissue or specifically in epidermal tissues.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Genetic engineering of forest tree species to conform to desired traits has shifted the emphasis in forest tree improvement away from the traditional breeding programs during the past decade. Although research on genetic engineering of forest trees has been vigorous, the progress has been slow due.

The ability to make trees grow faster and be disease resistant to produce the highest volume of wood in the shortest period of time has been and continues to be the top objective of many forest products company worldwide. The ability to genetically increase the optimal growth of trees would be a commercially significant improvement. Faster growing trees could be used by all sectors of the forest and wood products industry worldwide.

Lignin, a complex phenolic polymer, is a major component in cell walls of secondary xylem. In general, lignin constitutes 25% of the dry weight of the wood, making it the second most abundant organic compound on earth after cellulose. Although lignin plays an important role in plants, it usually represents an obstacle to utilizing biomass in several applications. For example, in woodpulp production, lignin has to be removed through expensive and polluting processes in order to recover cellulose.

Thus, it is desirable to genetically engineer plants with reduced lignin content and/or altered lignin composition that can be utilized more efficiently. Trees that could be genetically engineered with a reduced amount of lignin would be commercially valuable. These genetically engineered trees would be less expensive to pulp because, in essence, part of the pulping has already been performed due to the reduced amount of lignin.

Trees with increased cellulose content would also be commercially valuable to the pulp and paper industry.

Disease resistance in plants is also a most desirable plant trait. The impact of disease resistance in trees on the economy of forest products industry worldwide is significant.

Promoters that target specific plant tissue could be useful in manipulating gene expression to enable the engineering of traits of interest in specific tissue of plants, such as, xylem and epidermal tissues.

Although studies have revealed several general properties of plant p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL), the role of CCL in regulating the synthesis of monolignols in response to different states of development and environmental stress in tree species remains largely unknown. Furthermore, multiple CCL isoforms are normally present in plants, channeling phenolic compounds to the biosynthesis of not only lignin but also other phenylpropanoids, such as flavonoids. Since CCL isoforms have not been previously cloned from tree species for the identification of their biochemical functions, the presence of CCL isoforms remains so far as a challenge to a specific control of metabolic flux to the lignin biosynthesis in tree species.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a method to genetically alter trees through the down regulation of p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL). Such down regulation of CCL results in faster growth, and/or reduced lignin content, and/or altered lignin structure, and/or altered cellulose content and/or disease resistance. The invention also provides for genetically engineered trees which have been altered to down regulate p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL) to achieve faster growth, and/or reduced lignin content, and/or altered lignin structure, and/or increased cellulose content and/or increased disease resistance. The invention also provides tissue specific promoters of the CCL genes that can be used to manipulate gene expression in target tissue such as xylem and epidermal tissues.

It is one object of the present invention to down regulate p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL) in trees.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to genetically alter trees to grow faster.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to genetically alter the growth of trees through manipulation the lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase.

It is another object of the present invention to provide genetically altered trees with an accelerated growth characteristic.

It is another object of the present invention to provide transgenic trees with an accelerated growth characteristic which have been genetically altered by down regulating lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to genetically alter trees to reduce their lignin content.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to genetically alter the lignin content of trees through manipulation of a lignin pathway enzyme.

It is another object of the present invention to genetically engineer trees which have reduced lignin content through manipulation of lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase.

It is another object of the present invention to provide genetically altered trees with a reduced lignin content.

It is another object of the present invention to provide transgenic trees with reduced lignin content which have been genetically altered by down regulating the p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL).

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to genetically alter trees to change their lignin structure through manipulation of lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase.

It is another object of the present invention to provide trees with altered lignin structure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to increase the cellulose content in trees.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to increase the cellulose content of trees through the manipulation of a lignin pathway enzyme.

It is another object of the present invention to provide trees with increased cellulose content.

It is another object of the present invention to provide transgenic trees having increased cellulose content from the down regulation of CCL.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to genetically alter trees to increase their disease resistance.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method to genetically alter trees to be more disease resistant through manipulation of the lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase.

It is another object of the present invention to genetically alter trees to increase their disease resistance to fungal pathogens.

It is another object of the present invention to provide trees with increased disease resistance.

It is another object of the present invention to provide transgenic trees with increased disease resistance through down regulation of the lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method using a promoter of a CCL gene to target gene expression in specific plant tissue.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method using a promoter of a CCL gene to target gene expression specifically in plant xylem.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method using a promoter of the CCL gene to target gene expression specifically in the epidermal tissues of plants.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a CCL gene promoter that targets gene expression specifically in the xylem of plants.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a CCL gene promoter that targets gene expression specifically in the epidermal tissues of plants.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following drawing, detailed description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a phenylpropanoid pathway;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of Agrobacterium T-DNA construct pACCL1;

FIG. 3 is a restriction map of genomic clone PtCCL1g-4;

FIG. 4 is a restriction map of genomic clone PtCCL2g-11;

FIG. 5 is a restriction map of subcloned PtCCL1 gene promoter p7Z-4XS;

FIG. 6 is a restriction map of subcloned PtCCL2 gene promoter pSK-11HE

FIG. 7 is an Agrobacterium T-DNA construct of PtCCL1 promoter and GUS fusion gene, PtCCL1p-GUS; and

FIG. 8 is an Agrobacterium T-DNA construct of PtCCL2 promoter and GUS fusion gene, PtCCL2p-GUS.

Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details set forth in the following description of the preferred embodiment. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The invention pertains to genetically down regulating a lignin pathway p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase (CCL). Trees which have been genetically transformed to down regulate CCL will hereafter be called transgenic trees. Such down regulation can result in faster growing trees. Such down regulation can result in a reduction in the lignin content of the trees and/or altered lignin structure. Such down regulation can result in increased cellulose content. Such down regulation can result in increased tree disease resistance. Further, by using a specific promoter of CCL, targeted tissue gene expression can be achieved in either the xylem or the epidermal tissues of the plant.

A. CCL

Lignin is synthesized by the oxidative coupling of three monolignols (coumaryl, coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols) formed via the phenylpropanoid pathway as shown in FIG. 1. Reactions in the phenylpropanoid pathway include the deamination of phenylalanine to cinnamic acid followed by hydroxylations, methylations and activation of substituted cinnamic acids to coenzyme A (CoA) esters. The CoA esters are then reduced to form monolignols which are secreted from cells to form lignin.

The products of the phenylpropanoid pathway are not only required for the synthesis of lignin but also required for the synthesis of a wide range of aromatic compounds including flavonoids, phytoalexins, stilbenes and suberin.

In angiosperms (hardwoods), lignin is composed of both coniferyl and sinapyl alcohol and is classified as guaiacyl-syringyl lignin. Grasses synthesize a third precursor (p-coumaryl alcohol) which is polymerized along with coniferyl and sinapyl alcohol. In gymnosperms (softwoods), lignin is composed of mainly coniferyl alcohol and is classified as guaiacyl lignin.

In the phenylpropanoid pathway, CCL activates a number of cinnamic acid derivatives, including p-courmaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, 5-hydroxyferulic acid and sinapic acid. The resulting products, CoA esters, serve as substrates for entry into various branch pathways, such as lignin, flavonoids, phytoalexins, stilbenes and suberin. The esterification reactions catalyzed by CCL require high energy and the reactions are not likely to occur without CCL. CCL is important in making a continuous flow of the lignin biosynthesis pathway. CCL is also important because it is located at the branching points of the phenylpropanoid metabolism. CCL is suggested to play a pivotal role in regulating carbon flow into specific branch pathways of the phenylpropanoid metabolism in response to stages of development and environmental stress.

The basic properties of CCL are quite uniform. CCL depends on ATP as a cosubstrate and requires Mg²⁺ as a cofactor. The optimal pH for CCL ranges from pH 7.0 to 8.5 and the molecular weight of CCL isoforms from various plant species ranges from 40 kd to 75 kd. Most CCLs have high affinity with substituted cinnamic acids. CCL has the highest activity with p-coumaric acid.

CCL cDNA sequences have been reported for parsley, potato, soybean, loblolly pine, Arabidopsis, Lithosperum and tobacco. CCL genes have been isolated and sequenced for parsley, rice, potato and loblolly pine. The analysis of CCL cDNAs and genes indicates that CCL is encoded by multiple/divergent genes in rice, soybean, and Lithosperum, very similar genes in parsley, potato, tobacco and loblolly pine, and a single gene in Arabidopsis. CCL promoters have been isolated and sequenced for parsley, rice and potato.

Alignment of deduced amino acid sequences of cloned plant CCL sequences reveals two highly conserved regions. The first conserved region (SSGTTGLPKGV),(SEQ ID NO:7) proposed to designate a putative AMP-binding region, is very rich in Gly, Ser and Thr and is followed by a conserved Lys. The second conserved region (GEICIRG), (SEQ ID NO:8) contains one common Cys residue. The amino acid sequences of CCL from plants contain a total of five conserved Cys residues.

The CCL genes of parsley, potato and rice contain five exons and four introns. The CCL genes also share the same exon/intron splice junction sites but have different lengths of introns. The genomic sequences of loblolly pine CCL are composed of four exons and three introns. It has been found that two similar CCL genes of the same species may differ slightly in length of intron as shown in two parsley genes (PC4CL1 and PC4CL2) and in two loblolly pine genes (LP4CL1 and LP4CL2).

By Northern blot analysis, it has been shown that CCL is expressed in leaf, shoot tip, stem, root, flower and cell culture. Two similar CCL cDNAs in parsley, potato and tobacco have been shown to be expressed at similar level in response to the environmental stress and during different developmental stages. Two distinct CCL cDNAs in soybean and Lithosperum have shown different expression levels when pathogens or chemicals were applied to the cell cultures. It appears that the expression of the CCL genes is developmentally regulated and inducible by many environmental stresses at the transcription level.

Genetic transformation with a CCL sequence can result in several significant affects. The description of the invention hereafter refers to aspen, and in particular quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) when necessary for the sake of example. However, it should be noted that the invention is not limited to genetic transformation of aspen. The method of the present invention is capable of being practiced for other trees, including for example, other angiosperms, other gymnosperm forest tree species, etc.

Preferably, the CCL down regulation is accomplished through transformation with a homologous CCL sequence in an antisense orientation. However, it should be noted that a heterologous antisense CCL sequence could be utilized and incorporated into a tree species to down regulate CCL if the heterologous CCL gene sequence has a high nucleotide sequence homology, approximately higher than 70%, to the endogenous CCL gene sequence of that tree species.

In addition, trees transformed with a sense CCL sequence could also cause a sequence homology-based cosuppression of the expression of the transgene and endogenous CCL gene, thereby achieving down regulation of CCL in these trees.

B. Isolation of CCL cDNAs

The present invention utilizes a homologous CCL sequence to genetically alter trees. The preferred embodiment of the invention as further described below utilizes a cDNA clone of the quaking aspen CCL gene.

Two aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx) cDNAs encoding two distinct CCL isoforms, PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 have been cloned. PtCCL1 cDNA is lignin pathway-specific and is different from PtCCL2 cDNA, which is involved in flavonoid synthesis. The cloning of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 cDNAs and the identification of their biochemical functions will be discussed in more length below. PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 genomic clones including their 5′-end regulatory promoter sequences were also isolated. The promoter of PtCCL1 (PtCCL1p) directs xylem tissue-specific gene expression in a plant, whereas the promoter of PtCCL2 (PtCCL2p) drives the expression of genes specifically in epidermal tissues of stem and leaf of a plant. These tissue specific promoters will be discussed in more length in Section I below.

Two CCL cDNAs, PtCCL1 and PtCCL2, have been isolated from quaking aspen using either a conventional cDNA library screening method or a PCR-based cDNA cloning method. It should be noted that the methods described below are set forth as an example and should not be considered limiting. These CCL cDNA clones are available from Michigan Technological University, Institute of Wood Research, Houghton, Mich.

Young leaves and shoot tips are collected from greenhouse-grown quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx). Differentiating xylem and sclerenchyma are collected from three to four year old quaking aspen. The bark is peeled from the tree exposing the developing secondary xylem on the woody stem and the sclerenchyma on the inner side of the bark. Developing secondary xylem and sclerenchyma are scraped from the stem and bark with a razor blade and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen until use.

Total RNA is isolated from the young leaves, shoot tips, xylem and sclerenchyma following the method of Bugos RC et al. (1995), RNA Isolation from Plant Tissue Recalcitrant to Extraction in Guanidine, Biotechniques 19(5):734-737. Poly(A)⁺RNA is purified from total RNA using Poly(A)⁺mRNA Isolation Kit from Tel-test B, Inc. A unidirectional Lambda gt22 expression cDNA library was constructed from the xylem mRNA using Superscript S System from Life Technologies, Inc. and Gigapack Packaging Extracts from Stratagene. The PtCCL1 cDNA was obtained by screening the cDNA library with a ³²P-labeled parsley 4CL cDNA probe. The parsley 4CL cDNA (pc4CL2) has Genbank accession number X13325, (SEQ ID NO:15).

The PtCCL2 cDNA was obtained by RT-PCR. The reverse transcription of total RNA isolated from shoot tips was carried our using the Superscript II reverse transcriptase from Life Technologies. Two sense primers (R1S, 5′-TTGGATCCGGIACIACIGGIYTICCIAARGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:9) and HlS, 5′-TTGGATCCGTIGCICARCARGTIGAYGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:10)) are designed around the first consensus AMP-binding region of CCL that was previously discussed. One antisense primer (R2A, 5′-ATGTCGACCICGDATRCADATYTCICC-3′) (SEQ ID NO:11) is designed based on the sequence of the putative catalytic motif GEICIRG (SEQ ID NO:8). One fifth of the reverse transcription reaction (4 Tl) is used as the template in a 50 Tl PCR reaction containing 1× reaction buffer, 200 TM each deoxyribonucleotide triphosphate, 2 TM each R1S and oligo-dT (20 mer) primers, and 2.5 units of Taq DNA polymerase. The PCR reaction mixture was denatured at 940 C for 5 minutes followed by 30 cycles of 940 C/45 seconds, 500 C/1 minute, 720 C/90 seconds and is ended with a 5 minute extension at 720 C. 2 T1 of the PCR amplification products are used for a second run PCR re-amplification using primers H1S and R2A. A 0.6 kb PCR fragment is cloned using the TA Cloning Kit from Invitrogen and used as a probe to screen an aspen genomic library to obtain the PtCCL2 genomic clone. Two primers (2A, 5′-TCTGTCTAGATGATGTCGTGGCCACGG-3′ (SEQ ID NO:12) and 2B, 5′-TTAGATCTCTAGGACATGGTGGTGGC-3′ (SEQ ID NO:13)) are designed based on the genomic sequence of PtCCL2 at around the deduced transcription start site and stop codon for the cloning of PtCCL2 cDNA by RT-PCR as described above using total RNA isolated from shoot tips.

The DNA sequences of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 cDNA were determined using—Taq Cycle Sequencing Kit from Amersham.

The PtCCL1 cDNA has an open reading frame of 1620 bp which encodes a polypeptide of 540 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular weight of 59 kd and pI of 5.8. The nucleotide sequence of the aspen CCL cDNA clone PtCCL1 is set forth as SEQ ID NO:1. The deduced amino acid sequence for the aspen CCL1 protein is set forth as SEQ ID NO:2.

The PtCCL2 cDNA has an open reading frame of 1713 bp which encodes a polypeptide of 571 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular weight of 61.8 kd and pI of 5.1. The nucleotide sequence of the aspen CCL cDNA clone PtCCL2 is set forth as SEQ ID NO:3. The deduced amino acid sequence for the aspen CCL2 protein is set forth as SEQ ID NO:4.

The aspen PtCCL1 cDNA shares a 59-74% identity at the nucleotide level and 59-81% identity at the amino acid level with other prior reported CCL cDNAs and genes, whereas the PtCCL2 cDNA shares a 60-73% identity at the nucleotide level and 57-74% at the amino acid level with other CCL cDNAs and genes as set forth in the following table.

TABLE 1 Comparison of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 Nucleotide and Predicted Amino Acid Sequence to Each Other and Other CCL Sequences DNA AMINO IDEN- DNA AMINO ACID ACID TITY % IDENTITY % IDENTITY % IDENTITY cDNA* PtCCL1 PtCCL2 PtCCL1 % PtCCL2 PtCCL1 62 63 LE4CL1 69 62 71 64 LE4CL2 60 71 59 73 GM14 74 67 81 69 GM16 62 73 65 73 NT4CL1 67 62 75 74 NT4CL2 66 63 75 66 PC4CL1 66 64 71 64 PC4CL2 66 63 72 64 ST4CL1 67 63 75 64 AT4CL 66 63 70 61 LP4CL 61 64 63 67 OS4CL1 59 60 59 57 *PtCCL1: aspen CCL PtCCL2: aspen CCL LE4CL1 and LE4CL2: Lithosperum erythrorhizon CCL GM14 and GM16: soybean CCL NT4CL1 and NT4CL2: tobacco CCL PC4CL1 and PC4CL2: parsley CCL ST4CL1: potato CCL AT4CL: Arabidopsis CCL LP4CL: loblolly pine CCL OS4CL1: rice CCL

The results of sequence analysis, phylogenetic tree and genomic Southern blot analysis indicate that PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 cDNAs encode two distinct CCLs that belong to two divergent gene families in aspen. The deduced amino acid sequence for the PtCCL2 protein contains a longer N-terminal sequence than the PtCCL1 protein but shows profound similarity in the central and C-terminal portions of protein to the PtCCL1 protein.

PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 cDNAs display distinct tissue-specific expression patterns. The PtCCL1 sequence is expressed highly in the secondary developing xylem and in the 6th to 10th internodes whereas the PtCCL2 sequence is expressed in the shoot tip and leaves. These tissue-specific expression patterns were investigated by fusing promoters of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 genes to a GUS reporter gene. The tissue specific promoters for PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 will be discussed in more length in Section I below.

The substrate specificity of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 is also different from each other as determined using recombinant proteins produced in E. Coli. PtCCL1 utilized p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid and 5-hydroxyferulic acid as substrates. PtCCL2 showed activity to p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid and ferulic acid but not to 5-hydroxyferulic acid.

Specifically, PtCCl1 and PtCCL2 were used to construct expression vectors for E.coli expression. The substrate specificity of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 were tested using fusion proteins produced in E.coli. Two plasmids, pQE/CCL1 and pQE/CCL2, were constructed in which the coding regions of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2, respectively were fused to N-terminal His tags in expression plasmids pQE-31 and pQE-32 (QIAGEN, Chatsworth, Calif.). The recombinant proteins of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 produced by E.coli are approximately 59 kd and 63 kd, respectively.

The two recombinant proteins were tested for their activity in utilizing cinnamic acid derivatives. PtCCL1 recombinant protein showed 100, 58, 71, 18 and 0% relative activity to p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, 5-hydroxyferulic acid and sinapic acid, respectively. PtCCL2 recombinant protein exhibited 100, 14, 27, 0 and 0% relative activity to p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, 5-hydroxyferulic acid and sinapic acid, respectively. Neither recombinant protein showed detectable activity to sinapic acid.

The results of the tissue-specific expression pattern and substrate specificity suggests that in addition to the general function of CCL, PtCCL1 apparently is more related to lignin synthesis in the xylem tissue and PtCCL2 apparently is more likely involved in flavonoid synthesis and UV protection.

It should be noted that the isolation and characterization of the PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 cDNA clones is described in Kawaoka A, Chiang VL (1995), The Molecular Cloning and Expression of Syringyl- and Guaiacyl-Specific Hydroxycinnamate: CoA Ligases from Aspen (Populus tremuloides ), Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Biotechnology in the Pulp and Paper Industry, Vienna, Austria; and in Hu, Wen-Jing, Isolation and Characterization of p-coumarate Co-enzyme A ligase cDNAs and Genes from Quaking Aspen (Populous temuloides Michx), Ph.D Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich. (1997); which are both herein incorporated by reference.

C. Transformation and Regeneration

Several methods for gene transformation of plant species with the CCL sequence are available such as the use of a transformation vector, agroinfection, electroinjection, particle bombardment with a gene gun or microinjection.

Preferably, a CCL cDNA clone is positioned in a binary expression vector in an antisense orientation under the control of double cauliflower mosiac virus 35S promoter. The vector is then preferably mobilized into a strain of Agrobacterium species such as tumefaciens strain C58/pMP90 and is used as the DNA delivery system due to its efficiency and low cost.

For example, with reference to FIG. 2, the binary expression pACCL1 used for plant transformations is shown. Specifically, the PtCCL1 cDNA is inserted in an antisense orientation into Pac I and BamH I sites between the double CaMV 35S/AMV RNA4 and the 3′ terminator sequence of the nopaline synthase gene in a binary cloning vector pACCL1 (FIG. 2). The binary vector containing hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT) gene is modified from pBin 19.

The gene construct pACCL1 is available from Michigan Technological University, Institute of Wood Research, Houghton, Mich.

The binary vector construct is mobilized in Agrobacterium tumefaciens using the freeze-thaw method of Holsters et al., Mol. Gen. Genet. 163:181-187 (1978). For the freeze-thaw method, 1.5 ml of overnight cultures Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58/pMP90 is pelleted at 5000×g for 3 minutes at 40 C and suspended in 1 ml of ice cold 20 mM CaCl₂. To the suspension is added 10 1l binary vector DNA (from an alkaline lysis minipreparation) and mixed by pipetting. The microcentrifuge tube is then frozen in liquid nitrogen for 5 minutes and thawed at 370 C for 5 minutes. After being cooled on ice, 1 ml of LB is added and the mixture is incubated at 280 C for 2 hours with gentle shaking. 200 1l of the cells is spread onto LB plates containing gentamycin and kanamycin and incubated at 280 C for 2 days. Colonies grown on the selection plates are randomly picked or miniprep and restriction enzyme digestion analysis is used to verify the integration.

The resulting binary vector containing Agrobacterium strain is used to transform quaking aspen according to Tsai et al., Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation of Quaking Aspen (Populous temuloides) and Regeneration of Transgenic Plants, Plant Cell Rep. 14:94-97 as set forth below.

Explants of young leaves from cuttings of aspen are obtained by cutting leaf disks of approximately 7 mm square from the young leaves along the midrib of the leaves. The explants are surface sterilized in 20% commercial bleach for 10 minutes followed by rinsing 3 times with sterile double-distilled water.

All of the culture media used includes the basal medium of woody plant medium (WPM) as described in Lloyd et al., Proc. Int. Plant Prop. Soc. 30:421-437 (1980) and supplemented with 2% sucrose. 650 mg/L calcium gluconate and 500 mg/L MES are added as pH buffers as described in Tsai, Plant Cell Reports, 1994. All culture media is adjusted to pH 5.5 prior to the addition of 0.075% Difco Bacto Agar and then autoclaved at 1210 C and 15 psi for 20 minutes. Filter sterilized antibiotics are added to all culture media after autoclaving. All culture media are maintained at 23±10 C in a growth chamber with 16 hour photoperiods (1601E×m⁻²×S⁻¹) except for callus induction (as will be described later) which is maintained in the dark.

The sterilized explants are then inoculated with the mobilized vector with an overnight-grown agrobacterial suspension containing 20 μM acetosyringone. After cocultivation for 2 days, the explants are washed in 1 mg/ml claforan and ticarcillin for 2 hours with shaking to kill Agrobacterium. The explants are blotted dry with sterile Whatman No. 1 filter paper and transferred onto callus induction medium containing 50 mg/L kanamycin and 300 mg/L claforan to induce and select transformed callus. The callus induction medium is the basal medium with the addition of 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) at concentrations of 0.5 mg/L and 1 mg/L, respectively, to induce callus.

The kanamycin-resistant explants are then subcultured on fresh callus induction media every two weeks. Callus formation occurs after approximately four weeks. Formed callus are separated from the explant and subcultured periodically for further proliferation.

When the callus clumps reach approximately 3 mm in diameter, the callus clumps are transferred to shoot regeneration medium. The shoot regeneration medium is the basal medium containing 50 mg/L kanamycin, 0.5 mg/L thidiazuron (TDZ) as a plant growth regulator and cefotaxime at 300 mg/L to kill Agrobacterium. Shoots were regenerated about 4 weeks after callus is transferred to regeneration medium. As soon as the shoots are regenerated, they are immediately transferred to hormone-free elongation medium containing 50 mg/L kanamycin and, whenever necessary, cefotaxime (300 mg/L), to promote elongation. Green and healthy shoots elongated to 2-3 cm in length are excised and planted separately in a hormone-free rooting medium containing 50 mg/L kanamycin. The efficient uptake of kanamycin by shoots during their rooting stage provides the most effective selection for positive transformants. Transgenic plants are then transplanted into soil medium of vermiculite:peatmoss:perlite at 1:1:1 and grown in the greenhouse.

The above described transformation and regeneration protocol is readily adaptable to other tree species. Other published transformation and regeneration protocols for tree species include Danekar et al., Bio/Technology 5:587-590 (1987); McGranahan et al., Bio/Technology 6:800-804 (1988); McGranahan et al., Plant Cell Reports 8:512-616 (1990); Chen, phD Thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C. (1991); Sullivan et al., Plant Cell Reports 12:303-306 (1993); Huang et al., In Vitro Cell Dev. Bio. 4:201-207 (1991); Wilde et al., Plant Physiol. 98:114-120 (1992); Minocha et al., 1986 Proc. TAPPI Research and Development Conference, TAPPI Press, Atlanta, pp. 89-91 (1986); Parsons et al., Bio/Technology 4:533-536 (1986); Fillatti et al., Mol. Gen. Genet 206:192-199 (1987); Pythoud et al., Bio/Technology 5:1323-1327 (1987); De Block, Plant Physiol. 93:1110-1116 (1990); Brasileiro et al., Plant Mol. Bio 17:441-452 (1991); Brasileiro et al., Transgenic Res. 1:133-141 (1992); Howe et al., Woody Plant Biotech., Plenum Press, New York, pp. 283-294 (1991); Klopfenstein et al., Can. J. For. Res. 21:1321-1328 (1991); Leple et al., Plant Cell Reports 11:137-141 (1992); and Nilsson et al. Transgenic Res. 1:209-220 (1992).

D. Phenotype Changes

The results of the transformation can be confirmed with conventional PCR and Southern analysis. For example, transferring CCL cDNA in an antisense orientation down regulates CCL in the tree. Expression of the CCL has been found to be blocked up to 96 percent in some transgenic trees.

After acclimation, the transgenic aspen display an unusual phenotype, including big curly leaves, thick diameters, longer internodes, more young leaves in the shoot tip and a red pigmentation in the petioles extending into midvein leaves. Red coloration of the developing secondary xylem tissues is observed after peeling of the bark in the transgenic plants.

E. Accelerated Growth

Down regulation of CCL alters growth of the transgenic trees. For example, transformation with an antisense CCL sequence accelerates the growth of the tree. Enhanced growth is markedly noticeable at all ages. In particular, the transgenic trees show enhanced growth in the form of thicker stems and enlarged leaves as compared to control trees. These characteristics are retained in the vegetative propagules of these transgenic trees. Table 2 sets forth exemplary data with respect to several lines of transgenic quaking aspen grown in the greenhouse after eight months. Volume represents the overall quantitative growth of the tree.

TABLE 2 Growth Measurement for Control and Transgenic Plants AVERAGE LENGTH HEIGHT DIAMETER VOLUME OF INTERNODE PLANT # (cm) (cm)* (cm³)* (cm) Control 1 247.7 1.08 75.6 2.6 Control 2 250.2 1.01 66.8 2.8 11-1 304.8 1.15 105.5 3.1 11-2 248.9 1.01 66.4 3.4 11-3 241.3 0.84 44.6 3.2 11-4 288.3 0.94 66.7 3.4 11-5 246.4 0.92 54.6 3.3 11-7 226.7 1.13 75.7 3.4 11-8 289.6 1.16 102.0 3.3 11-9 287.0 1.76 232.6 4.3  11-10 252.7 0.83 45.6 3.1  11-11 247.7 0.86 48.0 3.5 12-1 247.7 1.1 78.4 2.7 12-2 199.4 0.96 48.1 2.5 12-6 294.6 0.92 65.2 3.2 16-1 227.3 0.95 53.7 2.8 16-2 278.1 0.97 68.5 3.4 16-3 265.4 1.09 82.5 3.5 17-2 243.8 0.89 50.5 2.6 *at 10 cm above ground

The averages for height, diameter, volume and average length between internodes for the control plants are as follows:

Height (cm) 248.95 Diameter (cm) 1.045 Volume (cm³) 71.2 Ave. Length of 2.7 Internodes (cm)

With respect to height alone, for those transgenic plants (11-1, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9, 12-6, 16-2, 16-3) having a statistically larger height than the control plants, the average height was 286.83 cm as compared to the control plant average height of 248.95 cm.

With respect to diameter alone, for those transgenic plants (11-1, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9) having a statistically larger diameter than the control plants, the average diameter was 1.30 cm as compared to the control plant average diameter of 1.045 cm.

With respect to volume alone, for those transgenic plants (11-1, 11-8, 11-9, 12-1, 16-3) having a statistically larger volume than the control plants, the average volume was 120.2 cm³ as compared to the control plant average volume of 71.2 cm³.

With respect to average length of internodes alone, for those transgenic plants (11-1, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, 11-9, 11-10, 12-6, 16-2, 16-3) having a statistically larger average length of internodes than the control plants, the average average length of internodes was 3.39 cm as compared to the control plant average average length of internodes of 2.70 cm.

As demonstrated in Table 2, while there are variations in growth among the transgenic trees, the average length of the internodes for the transgenic trees is consistently and significantly higher than that of the control plants. Variations in the growth of the transgenic trees is normal and to be expected. Preferably, a transgenic tree with a particular growth rate is selected and this tree is vegetatively propagated to produce an unlimited number of clones that all exhibit the identical growth rate.

F. Lignin

Down regulation of lignin pathway CCL results in production of trees with reduced lignin content.

The following table shows the reduction of lignin content and CCL enzyme activity in several transgenic aspen which have been transformed with an homologous antisense CCL sequence.

TABLE 3 Characterization of Transgenic Aspen Plants Harboring Antisense CCL Sequence Lignin Content % Based On CCL % CCL Enzyme Transgenic Wood % Lignin Enzyme Activity Plant # Weight Reduction Activity* Reduction control 21.4 0.0 868 0 11-1 20.5 4.2 1171 −25 11-2 19.2 10.3 515 45 11-3 20.9 2.3 922 6 11-4 19.7 7.9 1032 −19 11-5 19.7 7.9 691 20 11-7 19.9 7.0 578 38 11-8 20.2 5.6 694 20 11-9 20.4 4.7 806 14  11-10 19.4 9.3 455 51  11-11 20.4 4.7 726 22 12-1 12.8 40.2 49 95 12-2 12.6 41.1 62 93 12-3 11.9 44.4 61 94 12-6 19.8 7.5 786 16 16-1 12.8 40.2 35 96 16-2 20.6 3.7 780 17 16-3 21.0 1.9 795 15 17-1 20.5 4.2 855 9 17-2 21.4 0.0 925 1 *activity is expressed as pkat/(mg protein) using p-coumaric acid as the substrate

Lignin content was determined according to Chiang and Funaoka (1990) Holzforschung 44:147-155. CCL enzyme activity was determined according to Ranjeva et al. (1976), Biochimie 58:1255-1262.

The data in Table 3 demonstrates a correlation between down regulation of CCL and reduction in lignin content.

Transgenic trees with reduced lignin content have an altered phenotype in that the stem is more elastic to the touch and the leaves are typically curlier.

It should also be noted that for those transgenic trees (12-1, 12-2, 12-3 and 16-1) with the approximately 40% reduction in lignin content and the corresponding approximately 95% reduction in CCL enzyme levels, all of those transgenic trees had a consistent deep red coloration in the wood of the plant. Accordingly, the deep red color can be used as an identifier of reduced lignin content.

Down regulation of lignin pathway CCL also results in production of trees with an altered lignin structure. Based upon thioacidolysis (Rolando et al. (1992) Thioacidolysis, Methods in Lignin Chemistry, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 334-349) of plants 12-3 and 16-1, coniferyl alcohol and sinapyl alcohol lignin units are significantly reduced in these two trees as compared to the control tree, as shown in the following table.

TABLE 4 Altered Lingin Structure Coniferyl Alcohol Sinapyl Alcohol Plant # Units* Units* control 733 1700 12-3 283 592 16-1 247 445 *micro-mole/g of lignin

The alteration of the frequency of the structural units in lignin of these transgenic trees is evidence that the overall structure of lignin in these plants has been genetically altered.

G. Cellulose Content

Down regulation of lignin pathway CCL results in increased cellulose content of the transgenic plants. Analysis of control and transgenic aspen for carbohydrate content demonstrate a higher cellulose content in the transgenic trees than the control trees. Particularly, the transgenic trees that have over 40% lignin reduction have about 10-15% higher cellulose content than the control. Data is set forth in the following tables for trees that were transformed with homologous CCL in an antisense orientation:

TABLE 5 Analysis of Carbohydrate Components in Transgenic and Control Aspen Galac- Plant # Glucan Arabinan tan Rhamnan Xylan Mannan Control 44.23% 0.47% 0.79% 0.37% 17.19% 1.91% 11-2 49.05% 0.36% 1.05% 0.38% 15.34% 2.04% 11-9 45.95% 0.40% 0.80% 0.37% 17.12% 1.83%  11-10 47.49% 0.43% 0.99% 0.40% 16.24% 2.35% 12-3 50.83% 0.55% 1.24% 0.48% 17.25% 1.77% 16-1 48.14% 0.56% 1.07% 0.48% 19.14% 1.58% 16-2 46.55% 0.34% 0.82% 0.37% 16.75% 2.31%

TABLE 6 Comparison of Lignin and Cellulose (glucan) Contents in Transgenic and Control Aspen Lignin Cellulose Content % Content % Plant # on wood % reduction on wood % increase Control 21.4 0 44.23 0 11-2 19.2 10.3 49.05 11.0 11-9 20.4 4.7 45.95 3.9  11-10 19.4 9.3 47.49 7.4 12-3 11.9 44.5 50.83 15.0 16-1 12.8 40.2 48.14 8.8 16-2 20.6 3.7 46.55 5.2

The procedure for carbohydrate analysis utilized is as follows. About 100 mg of powdery woody tissue with sizes that pass a 80-mesh screen was hydrolyzed with 1 mL of 72% (W/W) H2SO4 for 1 hr at 300 C. Samples were then diluted to 4% (W/W) H2SO4 with distilled water, fucose was added as an internal standard, and a secondary hydrolysis was performed for 1 hr at 1210 C. After secondary hydrolysis, the sugar contents of the hydrolysates are determined by anion exchange high performance liquid chromatography using pulsed amperometric detection. Sugar contents are expressed as % of the weight of the woody tissue used. The above procedures are similar to those in a publication by R C Pettersen and V H Schwandt, 1991, J. Wood Chem & Technol. 11:495-501.

H. Increased Disease Resistance

Down regulation of lignin pathway CCL results in production of trees with increased disease resistance, and in particular, with increased fungal pathogen resistance.

In particular, greenhouse transgenic aspen plants showed a disease resistance to fungi such as those which induce leaf-blight disease.

I. Promoters

Two distinct genes encoding CCL and their promoters were cloned. The promoter of PtCCL1 can drive gene expression specifically in xylem tissue and the promotor for PtCCL2 confers gene expression exclusively in the epidermal tissues. These promoters can be used to manipulate gene expression to engineer traits of interest in specific tissues of target plants. The significance of the promoters is the application of the xylem-specific promoter to direct the expression of any relevant genes specifically in the xylem for engineering lignin content, lignin structure, enhanced tree growth, cellulose content and other value-added wood qualities, etc. The importance of the epidermis-specific promoter is its ability to drive the expression of any relevant genes specifically in epidermal tissues for engineering disease-, UV light-, cold-, heat-, drought-, and other stress resistance traits in trees.

Specifically, the promoters of the PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 were conventionally isolated as follows. An aspen genomic library was screened with PtCCL1 cDNA and PtCCL2 partial cDNA fragment to isolate genomic clones of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2. Eleven and seven positive genomic clones were identified for PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 gene, respectively. Among 11 positive clones for PtCCL1, PtCCL1g-4 contained a full length coding sequence and at least 2 kb 5′ flanking regions. The restriction map of PtCCL1g-4 is set forth at FIG. 3.

With respect to PtCCL2, restriction map analysis was performed onλDNA of positive genomic clone PtCCL2g-11. The restriction map of PtCCL2g-11 is set forth at FIG. 4.

Approximately a 2.3 kb 5′ flanking region of PtCCL1 was digested from PtCCL1g-4 using Xba I and Sac I sites and cloned into pGEM7Z Xba I and Sac I sites. The subcloned PtCCL1 promoter was named p7Z-4XS and the restriction map of P7Z4XS is set forth at FIG. 5. The 5′ unilateral deletion of p7Z-4XS was generated for DNA sequencing by exonuclease III/S1 nuclease digestion using Erase-a-Base System (Promega, Madison, Wis.). The deletion series was sequenced using a primer on pGEM7Z vector.

A 1.6 kb Hind III and EcoR I fragment containing a 1.2 kb 5′ flanking region of PtCCL2 and 0.4 kb coding region of PtCCL2g-11 were subcloned in pBluescript II SK+ Hind III and EcoR I sites. The restriction map of the resulting clone, pSK-11HE, was determined by digesting the plasmid with several restriction enzymes, as in set forth at FIG. 6. In order to determine the sequence of the PtCCL2 promoter, pSK-11HE was further digested into small fragments according to the restriction map and subcloned into vectors with suitable cloning sites. The DNA sequence was determined using M13 universal primer and reverse primer on the vector.

The DNA sequences of the two promoters was determined and analyzed using qTaq cycle sequencing Kit (USB, Cleveland, Ohio), and GENETYX-MAC 7.3 sequence analysis software from Software Development Co., Ltd. The nucleotide sequence of promoter region of PtCCL1 is set forth as SEQ ID NO:5 and the nucleotide sequence of the promoter region of PtCCL2 is set forth as SEQ ID NO:6. The promoter gene constructs PtCCL1p and PtCCL2p are available from Michigan Technological University, Institute of Wood Research, Houghton, Mich.

Tissue-specific expression can be achieved by conventionally fusing the promoters of PtCCL1 or PtCCL2 to a gene of interest and transferred to a plant species via Agrobacterium. For the sake of example, the promoters of PtCCL1 and PtCCL2 were fused to a GUS reporter gene as detailed below. However, it should be noted that genes other than the GUS reporter gene can be fused to these promoters for tissue specific expression.

In order to construct PtCCL1 promoter-GUS binary vector, a 1 Kb fragment covering 5′-flanking region and 117 bp coding region of PtCCL1 was subcloned into pGEM7Z Sph I and EcoR I sites for constructing promoter-GUS binary vector. In this 1 kb DNA fragment, it is found that one Xho I site locates at 486 bases proximal to the translation start site and the EcoR I site at 117 bases downstream the translation site. This 0.6 Kb fragment was subcloned into pGEM7Z Xho I and EcoR I sites and used as a template in PCR amplification.

In order to construct a promoter-GUS transcriptional fusion, a BamH I site was introduced in front of the translation start site of PtCCL1 by PCR. PCR amplification was performed using p7Z-4XE as the template, M13 universal primer on pGEM7Z vector as 5′ end primer and PtCCL1p-1 primer containing a BamH I site at the end is complementary to a sequence upstream of the translation start site. The reaction was carried out in 100 1l reaction mix containing 1×pfu reaction buffer, 200 1l leach dNTPs, 100 1M each primer and 5 units of pfu. The PCR reaction mixture was denatured at 940 C for 5 minutes followed by 30 cycles of 940 C (1 minute), 550 C (1 minute), 720 C (1 minute, 30 seconds) and was ended with a 5 minute extension at 720C.

The amplified 0.6 Kb fragment was cloned and sequenced to confirm the sequence. The engineered 0.6 Kb fragment was ligated to p7Z-4SE which was digested with Xho I and BamH I. In order to incorporate a Hind III site in the 5′ end of PtCCL1 promoter, the 1 kb Sph I-BamH I PtCCL1 promoter region was the cloned into pNoTA (5 prime→3 prime Inc., Boulder, Colo.) Sph I and BamH I site. The 1 Kb PtCCL1 promoter was then released from pNoTA vector with Hind III and BamH digestion and subsequently transcriptionally fused to pBI101 Hind III and BamH I sites in front of GUS. The resulting binary vector was named PtCCL1p-GUS and is set forth at FIG. 7.

In order to construct PtCCL2 promoter-GUS binary vector, pSK-11HE was digested with Sph I and EcoR I to release 0.2 Kb Sph I and EcoR I fragment. The 0.2 Kb fragment was cloned into pGEM7Z Sph I and EcoR I sites. A primer, PtCCL2p-3′ (5′-CATCGGATCCTGAGATGGAAGGGAGTKTCT-3′ (SEQ ID NO:14)) was designed to be complementary to a sequence upstream of the translation start site of PtCCL2 and to incorporate BamH I site at the end. Amplification was performed using p7Z1 SE as a template, M13 universal primer as the 5′ end primer and PtCCL2p-3 as the 3′ end primer. A PCR reaction was carried out and the amplified PCR product was cloned and sequenced to check the fidelity of the PCR amplification. The 0.2 Kb Sph I-BamH I DNA fragment with correct sequence was fused to pSK-11HE linearized with Sph I and BamH I. The resulting plasmid was named pSK-11HB. The promoter of PtCCL2 was then excised from pSK-11HB with Hind III and BamH I and ligated to PBI101 Hind III and BamH I site to make PtCCL2p-GUS transcriptional fusion binary vector as shown in FIG. 8.

The PtCCL1p-GUS and PtCCL2p-GUS constructs are then mobilized into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain C58/pMP90 by freeze and thaw method as explained previously.

Leaf disk transformation of tobacco with these two Agrobacterium constructs is conducted according to the method of Horsch R. B. (1988) Leaf Disk Transformation, Plant Molecular Biology Manual, A5:1-9. Histochemical GUS staining of promoter-GUS transgenic tobacco plants demonstrated that the PtCCL1 promoter restricted GUS expression in xylem tissue whereas PtCCL2 promoter regulated GUS expression in epidermal cells. 

1. An isolated promoter comprising SEQ ID NO:6.
 2. A polynucleotide construct comprising the promoter of claim 1 operably connected to a polynucleotide coding sequence.
 3. The construct of claim 2, wherein the coding sequence encodes a p-coumarate Co-enzyme A amino acid sequence.
 4. A method of expressing a polynucleotide coding sequence in the epidermis of a plant, comprising: (a) introducing the DNA construct of claim 2 into a plant cell; and (b) regenerating a transgenic plant from the plant cell, wherein the polynucleotide coding sequence is expressed in the epidermis of the plant.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the polynucleotide coding sequence confers a trait selected from the group consisting of: altered flavanoid content, altered disease resistance, altered stress resistance, altered growth and combinations thereof, relative to a control plant.
 6. A transgenic plant produced by the method of claim
 4. 